Mortal Kombat: The Legend of Darkstar
by DarkStarFF
Summary: This is the untold story of a character named Darkstar. He is a Shirai ryu assassin going to visit his long lost friend, Takashi Takeda. But, his past haunts him as he enters the base his friend is working in and will hurl him into a world of terror and new friends and foes alike. (note: this story takes place 3 years after Mortal Kombat X story ends. It will also contain Lemons)
1. Reunion

"Name" Said the rough voice one the other side of the recruitment desk.

"Niko Ivanov reporting for a visit, sir" I say with a lazy salute. It has been quite a while since my last visit to the army base for the Special Forces. I couldn't wait to see Takeda and meet his girlfriend Jacqui, mostly because if the stories Takeda had told me about her, she must be really something.

"Why is a Shirai Ryu doing here?" the Soldier said in a menacing tone. Sure, the Shirai Ryu was not well accepted with the exception of Kenshi and Takeda, but a lot has changed since Shinnok was eliminated for the clans. "And why do you look like an assassin?"

"It's a tradition for my clan. It considers honor and lo-" I was cut off with a blunt "I don't care" from the soldier.

"Sooo, my I proceed or are you just gonna stand there like a stone wall?" I ask with a playful smile.

"Go." Said the officer, clearly annoyed with me.

I proceed with a smile under my hood and my Titanium Composite facemask. The place was much bigger than I remembered it before. The base could hold more than a 3 Battalions and had still had plenty of room for the vehicles and arsenals. Of course, there was a portal right smack in the middle of the place. After a few minutes of exploring and admiring the amazing setup S.F had made, I see Takeda's barracks. I start walking towards it and I feel a shark jab into my shoulder. I spin around and General Sonya Blade is right there. "Just my luck" I murmur to myself.

"What the holy hell are you doing here Darkstar?" demands General Blade.

"General Blade, long time no see eh? Listen I just want to see Takeda and Kenshi, then I'll be outta your hair. Sound good?" I reply as calmly as my heart would let me.

"I told you to never come back here after your incident with Erron. I will not tolerate you being here."

"Trust me, I totally get it that you hate me and wanna shoot me through my fuckin head whenever you see me, but I am to see Takeda and I will not leave till it happens. Don't think I'm still one of your little shit-headed subordinates who have to kiss your oh-so-great general ass to get a promotion."

I suppose I deserved what was coming to me, because in the blink of an eye she punched me in the nose, making little drops of blood leak out of it. I recover and get into my battle stance, ignoring the stinging feeling of my nose starting to leak a little bit of fresh blood. She thrusts another punch at me and I parry it by grabbing her arm and using my other to deliver three swift punches to her ear, making the blood start to trickle down her head. I let go of her arm and thrust my leg into a roundhouse kick, my boot going into her stomach. She gasps for air falls to her knees. I grab her long, soft ponytail and say with my thick Russian accent" I have learned a lot since I last saw you". I let go and stalk off to Takeda's barracks, wiping the blood from my nose and fixing my loosened gauntlets.

I arrive at His barracks and the guards inspect my for any outworld or netherrelm equipment. They let me though and I start going up the long flight of steel stairs, making a metallic sound each step I took. I eventually find Takeda's room and knock on the door. A woman opens the door and looks me straight in the eyes. She was strikingly beautiful just to look at. She had Dark brown hair and Hazel eyes, which matched her golden brown skin. She wasn't as tall as me "You're Jacqui, right?" I sheepishly ask her. I was never good with talking to girls, especially beautiful ones like her.

"That'd be me" she replied with a sweet smile. "And you are?"

"My name is Dar- I mean Niko Ivanov. I'm looking for Takashi Takeda, is he here?"

"yeah he's here" Jacqui opens the door enough for me to slide by her, Takeda is on the computer working on some sort of report.  
"Hard at word as usual?" I jokingly say to him.

Takeda looks over his shoulder and his eyes widen with excitement as he sees me. I'm not much to look at. I have messy black hair that I will sometimes spike when I have the time and my eyes are emerald green. My face has a few edges and a bladed scar on my right cheek. I'm about 5 feet 10 inches tall and somewhat muscular, not enough to show off though. I have a tribal tattoo of a wolf on my left shoulder blade and a corrupted star tattoo on my right shoulder blade. But nonetheless, Takeda was ecstatic to see me. He springs up from his chair and tackled me hitting the floor hard knocking the wind out of me. He gets up rather quickly and says "What are you doing here man? I thought you were dead." He offers his hand to help me up.

"I've been trying to stay out of trouble" I weakly say taking his hand and pulling myself up. I sluggishly move to my feet. "Wasn't exactly fun getting in here either. Those soldiers outside are dumb as a bag of rocks and General Blade decided to- Never mind."

Takeda looks at me hard in the eyes "What about General Blade? I thought she forgot about the incident when you and Erron- Oh right." He looks down at the floor. "I guess she is still sore, she never forgets a man's mistakes."

"I'll say. I think I have to get outta here before the whole battalion breaks down the door looking for me." I say with a giggle

"You do have a pass, to see me right?" He looks at me and I look away quickly. His tone suddenly goes menacing "What did you do?"

I look at round for a while and then close the door to his room to make sure no wandering ears find anything out. After I'm sure we are all alone I quietly say "I may have fucked up General Blade to get here."

It was Takeda's turn to be out of breath. He sits down slowly and stares in disbelief at me. "You beat up the General of Special Forces?" He exclaims with the small amount of air he had in his lings. His skin was ghost white just from the thought of General Blade getting in a fistfight and losing in front of the whole Alpha Battalion. The work she will go through to see that his long lost friend was brutally punished.

He looked up at Jacqui and then faced me, his gaze was cut short when he sprang up from his chair and charged at me, throwing me aside and made me end up landing on Jacqui. Takeda fixes his hair and looks outside the door window as Jacqui instinctively puts her arms into hooks and drags me away from where I was standing. _What the fuck are they doing?_ I wonder as I am being dragged away. Takeda puts a finger over his lips and opens the door. "Hello General Blade. We were not expecting you."


	2. Interrogation

**Author Notes:**

 **Thank you for viewing this FanFiction. I am always open for ideas and if you have any suggestions, don't hesitate to P.M me. As always, reviews are appreciated :D**

Sonya was not at all interested in Takeda's greeting. She glared at him with her sapphire blue eyes for what seemed like an eternity, then pushed him aside and asked with gritted teeth "Where's Darkstar? I know he's in this base and he said he wanted to see you. So you better tell me now before things get really ugly."

Takeda looked at her with a befuddled look on his face and open his mouth to reply but said nothing. He looked around the room, as if hoping for something to happen to divert her attention. " _Dammit, I can't let this happen. What do I do?"_ I silently think to myself. I look around and see that Jacqui and I are hiding in Takeda's closet. I try to move but Jacqui's firm grip wouldn't let me move and inch without her tightening her grip on my arms. I look at Jacqui and quietly whisper in her ear "let me go for the love of God, you are cutting off my circulation."

"Sorry" she says as she quickly withdraws her arms from mine. She shifts her body, separating it from mine and puts her ear to the door to hear what Sonya had been saying to her beloved boyfriend.

"Time is short, as is my patience" Sonya aggressively says to Takeda with her arms crossed. "If you don't tell me where he is, I'll make you talk." Takeda looks over his shoulder and sees two armed soldiers at the doorway and an armored van outside.

"Is all this protection really necessary? I mean, even for Niko- I mean Darkstar. He just wanted to see me" Takeda shudders, scared by Sonya's anger. Sonya called the guards in and told them to search everywhere. Within minutes, Takeda's room was completely flipped and disorganized; leaving nothing on the shelves and the bed was stripped of its layers. Feeling content with her search, Sonya gave Takeda one last glare and began to exit. I hear the door open and begin to shift to my feet when suddenly I slip and grab on to one of the uniforms to support my weight. It tears with a loud rip and I tumble out of the closet door… Right in front of the now completely astonished General Blade.

"God fucking dammit my luck sucks so much" I grumble as Sonya gets into a battle stance and kicks me in the temple and then kicks me again to make sure my lungs have to work overtime before I am able to recover. I gasp for air in a crouched position my hand holding on to one of the closet door handles for dear life. "Not so much of a smart-ass now are ya?" Sonya taunts as I struggle to my feet, lungs still feeling like breathing through a damp pillow.

"Alright, alright you made your point. Don't make a big deal out of it" I snap back at her. "Now that we are even, what do you say I leave the premises before anyone else gets hurt?"

"Actually, I have something else is store for you. How about you go to the interrogation room and you me and officer Kenshi will have a talk about what to do with your sorry ass."

She handcuffs me and the two soldiers grab me and remove my gauntlets and mask along with my hoodie, now all that's left is my pants and my black t-shirt. They haul me off to the interrogation room just a short distance from Takeda's barracks and sit me down in a chair that had all sorts of markings drawn on it. I'm not very good at symbols, but those symbols were not from Earthrealm. He room was sound proofed and about the size of a higher class office. It was all silver and a large door being the only recognizable exit. I shift around nervously and look at the windows to get a good look at myself. "Hey handsome, you come here often?" I mock my reflection.  
"Not if I can avoid it" a voice replies, coming from the window. I stare with curiosity at my reflection and wonder who or what that was. "Well, I didn't know reflections can talk" I say with amusement.

"Reflections are followers of a host, same with shadows. They do not think or act for themselves, they only follow." Said the voice again.  
"Kenshi?" I take a wild guess.  
"Good job, Niko, good job. Now" he appears behind me, putting his hand on my shoulder "tell me why you come here."

I look at him straight where his eyes should be and say" To visit a friend."

"Ah yes. The two friends separated after your little… Accident."

"You think I meant for that to end up the way it did?"

"No, but you did gain something special from this accident."

"Something I consider a curse more than a gift."

Kenshi walks and feels for a chair and sits down. He "looks" at me and says "nonetheless, it is something very rare and should be kept under control. I understand that General Blade gave you her welcoming gift?"

"Some gift that was" I say trying to adjust to a more comfortable position, though the metal folding chair was not proving a cooperative shape, not to mention the uneven legs making me rock back and forth. I eventually gave up on trying to be comfortable and slumped awkwardly in front of the blind swordsman, who was smiling at my futile attempts. "What? This chair is crappier than General Blade's attitude" I say with annoyance. Kenshi laughs with genuine amusement. "Well, you aren't wrong. I may not be able to see, but the waves if anger pulsing from here tends to make me shy away from her."

I smile with satisfaction, glad that someone in the battalion gets my sense of humor. He was my mentor for almost everything before he left to join Special Forces to help Sonya with Kano and the whole flare up with Outworld and a psychotic Elder God. He taught me how to fight, be aware of my surroundings, how to destroy and enemies' mind and best of all he taught me how to use any weapon to my advantage.  
"It was a real honor to talk to you, Master Kenshi" I say respectfully.

"And it was great to reconnect with my clan for the time being." He says back with a soothing tone. "Oh and Sonya's daughter, Cassie, is going to meet with you in a few minutes. Make sure you make it hard for her to crack you. It's her first time formally intimidating someone." He gives me a grin and gets up and leaves the room.

It seemed like a few hours before I heard commotion outside the interrogation room. Then I hear the door open and a young woman, probably not much older than me, peeks her head outside of the door and closes it again. I look at the door curiously for a few seconds before it swings open and the woman, who I presume is Cassie Cage, steps out and looks at me. "You're Darkstar?"

"Yes, and you are?" I say with a nervous grin. This woman was beautiful just like Jacqui, except Cassie had lighter skin, short hair, beautiful blue eyes and a perfectly carved face. She was also in great shape. Not a single ounce of recognizable fat, just a perfectly shaped body, curves in the right places, it felt almost too good to be true. _Damn it. This is gonna be a hard interview._ I curse under my breath as I look at her in wonder.

"I am Sergeant Cassandra Cage. Maybe you've heard of me" She says almost uniform. She puts her hand on the open door, which opens more making her lose her balance and stumble enough to make me snicker at the obvious mistake. "Oops" Cassie says her cheeks turning a light red. "So, you are supposed to be interrogated by me today right?"

I snicker and confirm with her that it was in fact me. I look at her with curiosity as she approaches me, her head looking away from me. _Is she… Nervous?_ I quietly as she approaches me, sitting down to face me. After a minute of her just staring at me, she finally says "Why are you here?"

I simply reply with "To visit a long lost friend"

"Oh really? What's his name?"

"Ma'am the answer to your question is Takashi Takeda."

"You know Takeda?"

"Didn't I say I wanted to visit a long lost friend?"

Cassie straightens, looking at me, suddenly interested in my reason for being here "Then you know my squad right? Me, Takeda, Jacqui and Kung Jin?"

I look at her with amusement "yep."

After a seemingly endless amount of talking, Cassie gets up and leaves for the door. She looks back at me and walks back. "I almost forgot. Kenshi and my mom talked about what to do with you and they both somehow agreed they want you to stick around for a while. So you best get comfortable, cause we already got your room ready for use. Welcome to S.F and your new home, Niko "Darkstar" Ivanov."


	3. Upgrades

**Author's Note:  
Sorry for the delay on the last chapter. I have been busy with stuff and things. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter and don't forget to write a review and tell me what you think** **.if you have. If you any ideas, do not hesitate to P.M me.**

I stare in shock and am utterly speechless as I hear the door squeak to a close. Me? S.F? Live here? New home? A wave of confused emotion engulfs me. I can't possibly think about living here again. How did Sonya even allow such a term? I don't know what to do anymore, and even though I could survive here, I could never live here. Not with Sonya breathing down my neck all the time. The door opens again and the two guards that dragged me here approach me. They uncuff me and stand me up. I didn't have a problem with because after that interrogation I was nearly about to faint. We reach the exit and the soldiers direct me to my room. "Thanks fellas, I think I'll be a while so why don't you guys take the day off?" I say with a hollow voice

Thankfully, the soldiers leave me alone and return to their positions outside the barracks. I fall on my new bed out of energy. _What a day it has been. A simple visit that went to shit faster than anything I've ever experienced_ I quietly think to myself. I lay uncomfortably on the bed trying to soak it all in.

A long hour passes along when I hear a knock on my door. Clearly, irritated by the events, I swing open the door, not bothering to look at who was at the other side. Cassie was at the other end of the door. "May I help you?" I curiously and cautiously ask her, expecting a set of guards behind her or something along those lines. She crossed her arms and looked at me with those gorgeous blue eyes. "Is everything ok there Miss?" I ask, tilting my head a little bit to the right.

She nods her head and says "Darkstar, you are to report to Sergeant Johnny Cage's training ground."

I scratch the back of my head "You mean your father?"

"Yes. I can't call him that when I'm on duty. It's considered not formal." She rolls her eyes at the statement she just said, as if it was some stupid joke.

"Tell him I'll be right there."

"Good to know you are cooperating. Oh, we saved your gear and the quartermaster added a few upgrades to your outdated gauntlets and weapons. Hope you like 'em."

She bends over to her right and picks up a fairly large wooden box and hands it to me. "Thanks" I say, somewhat eager to see what the upgrades are. I put down the box and look back at her.

"Seriously though, thanks. I'm really glad at least you are making this not so bad for me" I say with the mellowest tone.

"Yeah no problem, I know it must not have been easy knowing that you'd have to live here for a while" She says smiling at me and looks at me in a way that made me blush. _Thank god my room is dark; this would have been truly embarrassing_ I quietly think to myself. A moment of silence happens, just me and her, nothing else. For a few seconds I felt happy, peaceful. Like there was nothing to worry about. Maybe this place won't be so bad after all.

I quickly snap out of my gaze and say nervously "Hey look, I'd absolutely love to talk more to ya, but I got to get down to John- err, uh, Sergeant Johnny Cage's training ground."

She nods and says goodbye and turns to leave, leaving me to catch a glimpse of a smile as she leaves the hallway. _Holy shit_ _I almost lost it_ I think to myself as I open the box.

Inside the box was my hoodie, a new set of pants, metal souled combat boots and my breathing mask, no upgrades here. But, as soon as I started unwrapping the gauntlets, I knew they were different. Instead of the cheap metal outsides, the gauntlet was made out of a pure composite titanium alloy, making it lighter and faster. The gauntlets were originally made to imitate Tarkatan arm blades, which were long, sharp blades about the length of a small one handed sword. The upgrades made the Tarkatan blades look like a toy. The blades that shot out of the gauntlets were serrated and an inside heater made the blades gleam silver and red with heat. I withdrew the blades and examined the rest of the gauntlet. Each gauntlet had a different projectile: The one on the left had a smoke/mustard gas emitter and the right was made with a built in taser, which was ramped up enough to stop a heart permanently. I put them on and they auto locked to fit me perfectly. "This is so awesome" I say to myself with complete glee.

I look over to my mask and see something peculiar. It seemed that the mask had a function that could also be used as a scuba diving mask. I then look at the hoodie, pants and boots and felt them. The outside of them were lined with a cloaking device, making me invisible to the any eyes. "Oh, man I'm so using this." I laugh, clearly pleased with my new weapons and gear. I put all my stuff on and head off to Johnny Cage's training ground.


	4. Training Day

**Authors Notes:**

 **Hey guys, thanks for keeping up with the story! I know chapter three was as tiny at hell but, this chapter is going to be a very packed one. Hope you enjoy this and feel free to leave a review and tell me what you think; it helps me out a lot. Once again, feel free to P.M me if you have any questions or ideas. I'm always willing to listen to what you have to say :D**

"Whatever Johnny has in store for me, I hope it's more fun than his ex-wife." I say to myself as I close the door to my quarters, getting ready to give Johnny a visit. Stepping outside of the base without guards was a weird feeling, but a good one too. I look around for a map and see where I have to go. I don't waste any time getting there because I want to see Takeda and Jacqui and Cassie as soon as I'm done with this and the faster the better.

I eventually reach the training building and open the large and thick glass doors. The place was dome shaped and had a lot of obstacles for many different attributes. I could see a few guys and girls messing around, training, fighting and using various powers; some of which I haven't even seen before.

"Ah, Mister Niko Ivanov, welcome to S.F: where the powers are diverse and the beat downs are brutal" said a loud and humorous voice. It was no doubt Johnny Cage. I looked at him with a smile. Johnny was a very unique individual. He had spiked hair, dark sunglasses and was wearing his gym outfit, which were sweatpants and no shirt with brass knuckles that were labeled "Cage" on them. He was in especially good shape, with a posture that told everyone not to mess with him.

"Hello Sergeant Cage, it's nice to meet you" I say with a grin and shake his hand.

"Please, call me Johnny. I don't really give a crap about rank. All I need to know is who can kick who's ass."

"I guess we'll see who will be on whose ass today, yeah?" I say challengingly.

Johnny laughs and claps his hands twice. The room immediately falls to a dead silence. Everyone is looking at Johnny with anticipation. "Alright everybody, take your seats and get ready for kombat." He says.

Everyone takes their seats, eyes still on him and a few on me. People were cracking their knuckles and giving each other menacing looks.

"You guys may already know the rules, but we have us some fresh meat that will need some tenderizing. The rules are simple: It is a simple fight to the death. Try to kill your opponent by any means necessary. If you do kill them, the remains will be taken to a rejuvenation chamber in which they will be revived and completely healed. Remember to block and use the right moves at the right time."

Everyone is looking at me now like hungry wolves that see easy and rewarding prey ripe for the taking. "Darkstar, are you ready for your first S.F cage fight?" Johnny asks with confidence

"Alright, let's see if these clowns know how to fight" I say with a mocking tone.

"Right then. Your first opponent will be Corvette."

A skinny male walks in front of me. He was wearing a full mask and was not at all muscular and looked like he was more for speed than power. "Ready for the fight of your life?" he taunts, pointing his finger at me.

"They call you corvette? You look like a run-down tow truck to me" I say.

He charges at me with lightning speed and jabs me in the stomach making me tighten my core section in case he wants to go there again. I spring my gauntlet swords out and wait for him to charge at me again. He runs again and I swing early, slicing his shoulder. He groans with pain as the blade passively burns his skin. We get closer and closer to each other, watching every move. I retract my blades and swing at his face and then launching a high kick as soon as he deflects it, kicking him in the chin.

He falls backward and I advance with two sharp left jabs and then a right, making him momentarily stunned. I put him in a choke hold with my left hand and press the extension that sprays a thick layer of mustard gas into his face, making him cough uncontrollably.

I let go and spring out both blades and stab both blades into his soft core area, making his skin melt and bubble with blood. He screams with agony as the blades sink deeper into his intestines, ripping and melting all in their path. I hear a voice from the background call out "Finish Him." I thrush my blades upward with enough force to cut his arms off and then sink my right blade into his throat, making him gurgle with blood spraying out of his mouth and throat. He falls to the concrete floor. I approach the fading body and put it out of its misery by stomping on its skull with my metal plated boots, crushing the brains within.

I step away from the mutilated corpse and all I hear is a deadly silence. I had just murdered someone in front of everyone, and I felt alive and yet full of regret. If those rejuvenation chambers are as good as they say they are, this poor soul is going to need it.

"I told you to finish him as in knock him out, but that works too" Johnny finally says with a twisted sense of humor in his voice. I look at the crowd and see a mix of faces that were either amazed or terrified. The corpse was still twitching with minor spasms, as if a spirit was still trying to escape what was left of the body. "Anyway, it looks like you won easily, but you haven't gotten your challenge yet."

I straighten, looking at him, ready for the next opponent. "Oh yeah? Who's next?"

"Me" says Johnny with his arms crossed, the happy smile on his face turned into a mocking smile almost instantly. "Ready to get star struck chump? And don't worry I won't hold back."

"Didn't your star fade a while ago?" I say tauntingly

"Still strong enough to put you flat on your ass." He simply replies, getting into a stance that made his brass knuckles gleam with brilliance.

He suddenly springs up in the air with superhuman agility and dives towards me ready to send a kick into my face. I anticipated that attack, what I forgot is that he has a green shadow that will slow or speed up his attack. I brace early and he activates his shadow kick, landing it directly in my chest. I hit the ground so hard that cracks start to form in the concrete floor. I recover very quickly with a slight daze. _Let's make this interesting._ I think as I activate the smoke function, spraying from my gauntlets in thick layers, covering me. Because I have my mask and some eye protection that was in my mask, I was unharmed and could still see. Unfortunately for Johnny, he is stunned, coughing and covering his eyes. I run behind him and kick him behind the knee and then use the taser function and fire it into his back. He buzzes with absolute surprise and rage. He falls to the ground, still shivering from the electricity. I loom over him and raise my hand to deliver the killing blow.

He opens his bloodshot eyes performs a perfect wakeup attack, executing a flawless shadow back flip, both of this metal plated shoes colliding with my chin. I fly backwards and skid across the floor breaking the smooth concrete as I slid from the momentum. I groan with pain. My jaw was definitely fractured and the impact from the fall probably broke a few ribs. I struggle to get up. _"_ Don't hold back" I encourage myself as I get back on my feet.

I look at Johnny who was cracking his knuckle and giving me that victorious smirk. I stare him down and charge at him. He starts running at me too, but this time I was ready. I release a billowing trail of mustard gas in front of me and jump to the side when we were about to collide. From inside of the gaseous ball I hear him screaming in pain as he inhaled the fumes from the poisonous gas. "One supernova coming up." I yell. I clash my blades together, creating a large spark.

The spark was small, but when it reacted with the gas, it ignited into a massive fireball, launching me backward onto the ground. _I think I just cooked Cage to a crisp._ I say with satisfaction. I put my hands on my knees. It was over; I had finally beat Johnny. I look over to see him on the ground completely crisp from the inferno that I caused.

Just when I get up, I feel a sharp pain in my gut that throws me to the ground. I look up and see Johnny standing up, with only a few cuts and gashes from the attacks. "How the seven layers of hell are you even alive?" I ask with disbelief.

"It's not that hard to figure out. My shadow took that blow. When I was running at you, I had a double running in front of me then I jumped out of the way at the last second like you did, leaving my double to catch the fall."

I take his outstretched hand and get back up on my feet. I was sore and partially pissed off that Johnny would pull such a cowardly move to same himself, but it was also a smart one because if he didn't do that, he would have died for sure.

"I got to say Niko; you have very good planning and execution, not to mention being resourceful. I think this is my first training fight where I actually felt like I might lose. Sonya wasn't lying when she said to keep an eye on you." He compliments me, putting his hand on my bruised shoulder.

"Well, thanks for training me today Johnny." I reply "Oh, where are those healing doohickeys you were talking about earlier?"

Johnny pulls out a metallic hollow tube put of his pocket and then takes out a small blue vile. He puts the liquid into the syringe and gives it to me. "Use this, it's a small dose, but that's about all you'll need for your injuries.

I look at the liquid with wonder. How does this tiny vile heal wounds and fix bones almost instantly? I thank him and leave the training room. My jaw felt awful and I was holding my upper left part of my ribcage with my right hand, and walking with a slight limp. My vision became fuzzy from the nausea that was rising from the fight that was previously nonexistent. I increase my pace as I make my way back to my respective barracks, each step becoming harder to execute.

I eventually am moments away from the door when I fell my legs buckle from underneath me, completely losing their will to go on. I tumble to the ground and the last thing I see is a slender figure approach me before drowning into a dark unconsciousness.


	5. Awakening

**Author's Notes:  
Hey guys and gals. Sorry about the lack of posting. I was busy and finding new ideas from some of the suggestions I'm getting from either peers or other readers. But, I'm going to keep cranking these out until the end. Thank you all for your support and remember that comments and P.M messages are always appreciated :D**

"You almost looked peaceful for a second there."

I struggle to open my eyes. My arms and legs and ribs felt like they were made of rotting wood, as if they were ready to give in on themselves at any given moment. I could feel my bed underneath my bruises and the air conditioner was on full blast, chilling me to the bone. _I wonder how I ended up in my room._ I quietly think as I finally manage to open my left eye to see a blurry and familiar face.

"Rise and shine Niko" says the blurred face. I slowly lift up my right arm and rub my eyes to adjust to the face. It was Cassie looking down at me with her head slightly perpendicular from mine but nonetheless a beautiful sight to see after regaining consciousness. She miles at me and looks at me gently, making blood rush to my face. _Shit, not now._ I curse my brain for blushing at the wrong moment. I look away from her gaze.

"Something wrong?" she asks, suddenly curious about why I looked like a ripe cherry.

"Nothing… Nothing's wrong. I'm good" I say quickly trying not to look stupid in front of her.

She giggles and kept looking at me "Liar." She teases me as I quickly look anywhere but her eyes or her body.

A long moment passes as I try to get up and try ignoring the fact that she called me out on my lie. I sit on my bed, my feet on the ground. My torn up hoodie and all my other gear was on the desk next to my bed. I took a wild and silent guess that Cassie had something to do with that.

"Not really good at talking to girls are you?" She says with a little hint of amusement.

"I guess it didn't take you long to figure that out" I reply discouraged. "I guess I've never been good at that."

She laughs and gives me a playful nudge with her shoulder "Haha, well at least you are honest about that. Most guys would deny that and try to be cool and totally fail. That's when they really look stupid."

I look at her again, she was smiling at me. She seemed to enjoy my company and just me being this close to her made me feel content with passing out on that concrete floor outside of the barracks. Perhaps a gift from above that made me end up this close to her.

I remember what happened before this and I ask "Why did I pass out?"

She looks down at the ground and then forward. "You passed out from the toxic fumes that came from the mustard gas fireball that you created. It was a delayed reaction which is why you passed out when you were walking back to the barracks. I managed to heal you up, but you are going to be sore for a few hours."

"Didn't my mask keep me from the fumes though?" I was suddenly confused at her remark. My mask was sealed from the start and I remember not taking it off until I passed out.

"Remember when Johnny gave you that Wakeup attack and sent you flying? He made a small fracture in the mask, breaking some of the filters."

"Oh right." I suddenly felt stupid for emptying my two tanks of mustard gas in one sitting. "I'll have to cut back on the mustard gas huh?"

She giggles again "Maybe you should be more careful with that."

"Can't complain with the fireball though. I thought that was pretty sick." I remember the look on the other fighters' faces when it ignited; it was such a glorious sight to see. "How long was I out?"

"Two days. You had the healing injection in hand so I put that in and checked your body for any burns."

I look at her with a confused and somewhat alarmed look "Uhhhh, my whole body?"

She gives me an annoyed look and then nudges me again "Hey, I wasn't _that_ thorough."

I look at her and jokingly say "Mhm sure. Is that why you wanted to help me? To see me without clothes on?"

Her eyes widen and her mouth opens in shock, and then starts laughing. "Oh my god, you are such an ass." She punches me playfully. "And for the re

After a happy exchange of jokes, she tells me about how Johnny was very impressed with my fighting ability and that he wants to get to know me.

"Oh and one more thing: I want you to join my squad. Me, Takeda, Jacqui and you would be a great team." She says.

I look at her quizzically. "I thought you had Jin too."

"We did. Johnny kicked him out cause he felt that Jin was no longer needed. Something to do with ignorance."

"Sounds about right" I laugh. I suddenly feel a nervous feeling and then ask her "Do you actually think I'll fit into this group?"

She smiles and then our eyes meet once again. She gently puts one of her hands on my leg, just above my knee and gives me a genuine smile. "Look, you'll be fine. I think you are more than capable of this. Plus, what better team than your best friend, a new friend, you and yours truly?"

"Is your mother ok with this?"

"Who cares? It's my team and she won't do shit about it."

I look at her with confidence, like I knew she would ensure all would go according to plan. Although, the things that I get into always end up in disaster. But, I take her offer and she jumps up with excitement, her blue eyes full with ecstasy that she finally had another crew member that wasn't a complete pain in the ass.

"So what of Takeda and Jacqui?" I ask with sudden curiosity

"They are both getting ready for the mission we are all going on. Think of it as an initiation test."

I shrug and get to my feet, suddenly feeling much better than I did several minutes ago. "Alright then, I'll see you at the platform in a few minutes?"

"Sure. Make sure you get refill on the mustard gas and the smoke. Don't forget the tune up on the mask." She says cheerily as she exits my room, giving one last look at me from the corner of her eye as she closes the door and walks down the corridor to exit the building.

"I finally didn't fuck up a conversation with a hot girl" I look up at the ceiling as if imagining the elder gods are smiling down at me.

I run to get my gear and slide the hoodie on me, along with the gauntlets, which clicked in place as soon as I slid them on. After the gear is all set, I run down to the Quartermaster and request the items and wait a few minutes until the gear arrives, along with the new facemask. I put the tanks in the gauntlet but don't release the pressure just to make sure that they don't release on their own. The mask was a perfect double for the old one, so much so that I almost forgot about the old relic. I step outside again and the sky was darker than when I went in, making a faint atmospheric purple in the sky, followed by streams of clouds and a full moon. A wondrous night to be going on a mission.

I make my way to the hanger that Cassie's name was on and wait for the team to arrive. The ship in front of me was amazing. Although it was about the size of two helicopters, it was fully weaponized and looked impressive in design. I start inspecting the ship's attributes and immediately admired how unique in style it was. This ship was designed for stealth operations. With its sharp nose and sleek body, I could imagine it flying through the night sky with the cool air brushing up against it, unable to slow down the ship.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Mr. Darkstar. How was your first day?" I spin around and Takeda and Jacqui were walking towards me, his arm around Jacqui's thin and well-toned waist. Cassie was right behind them, checking her pistols and other gear to make sure they were all ready for the adventure we were all about to embark on.

"It was actually very interesting. I nearly kicked Johnny cage's ass and I decided to take an involuntary nap when I was walking home" I reply. All three of my companions laugh quickly and then enter the open hatch of the ship.

I enter the ship last, climbing up the small ladder that led to the midsection of the ship. The interior was even more impressive than the outside. Technology was everywhere; covering the entire left side of the metallic wall. The right side would impress even the likes of a weapon inventor. It consisted of four weapons lockers and each locker had individual weapons. Cassie's locker was the first one in front of me. She had duel pistols that I have never seen before; new models perhaps. She also possessed EMP grenades and the classic frag grenades along with an unknown rifle next to it. One thing I knew about it was that it did not fire bullets.

Takeda's locker was predictable. _He never lets those whips go._ I smile at his metallic whips. I remember the first day he got them and how happy he was to have them. Under the whips were two medium sized daggers that were thicker than two of my fingers and had a pump that made them glow red hot.

Jacqui's was next. Anyone could tell that me and Jacqui had gauntlets that were made by the same person. The both had the same material to make them; only hers enhanced her upper body attacks and shot energy waves. They seemed like they were able to be switched out for a different attribute of projectile. My new locker was empty. So I neatly placed my gear in the locker and sat down on one of the seats that were on the back side of the plane.

"So guys, what's the plan? Takeda suddenly says, breaking the silence.

Cassie looks at all three of us as we shifter with anticipation. "Our goal is to free some refugees that are being trapped by an Outworld detachment. We are going to pass through the portal and get into Outworld. Once that happens, we are going to silently fly into the mountains where they are being held."

"Isn't Kotal Kahn gonna be mad we are getting into his business again?" Jacqui asks. Even though Outworld and Earthrealm didn't really like each other after the events a few years ago, they managed to find common ground.

"Kahn wanted us to take care of this. He said this is all part of a new rebellion called 'Vengeance'."

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's go" I say eagerly. It had been a while since I had traveled to Outworld and I wanted to see what had changed there.

"Alright then, I'll get us into the portal and you guys can hang out for a little while." Cassie positions herself in front of the piolets seat and gets cleared for a portal.

I relax and fall into a gentle nap as the engines start to purr like a kitten and then we push forward into the portal.

 _Outworld, here we come._ I think to myself as I fall into a comfortable sleep.


	6. Mistakes

**Author's Notes:  
I got some more feedback about chapter 5 and want to thank you all who are reading this for your ongoing support. I don't know if you think I'm a good writer, but I'm doing my best to make quality work for you guys. So, as requested, this chapter will be very revealing about Darkstar's past is going to take place in this chapter so get ready. Also, leave a like or a fav it helps me out a lot and don't forget to P.M me for requests or suggestions :D**

I wake up to the soft nudging of the cold metal bars against my head, making a hollow sound every time my head ran into it. Never in the first time had I slept that well on a plane and I doubt I'' ever feel the same way again. I look around slowly to find out where everyone is. Takeda was talking to his girlfriend about some exotic story he either made up or it was so crazy that it actually might have happened while Jacqui was looking at him dreamily, as if she was talking to a heavenly angel. Cassie was still in the cockpit, flying the plane towards our destination. I decide its time I talked to Cassie a little more. After all, it looks like she needed the company after flying a plane so long.

I get up from my seat and crack my back from being motionless for who knows how long. I walk to the cockpit ad put my hand on Cassie's right shoulder. She looks up at me and smiles. "Look who decided to wake up." She says as she motions me to sit in the co-pilot seat.

I sit down in the seat next to her. I could tell that event though that plane had a lot of functions, she seemed to be very relaxed. "Thought you may need some company; you seemed lonely."

She puts the plane in auto pilot and loses the door, letting us be alone and away from Takeda's unstoppable rambling. As soon as the door closed it made a sound of a pop and then there was nothing to be heard but the faint humming from the pressurized air ventilation.

Cassie stands up and cracks her back and stretches her slender and well-shaped legs. She had taken her gun straps off and had unzipped her jumpsuit slightly, allowing a little some of her breast to be visible. Perhaps it was rather hot in that suit, especially with the stress of flying a large object without being detected. "You thought right". She says, seeming to be happy that I was there to keep her company.

"So, you do these missions a lot?" I ask to start a conversation.

She sits back sown in her seat and rotates it towards me letting me to see her face and her body completely. "Nah, after the whole thing with Shinnok, we haven't found too much trouble with any of the realms, especially the Netherrealm." She replies looking at the flashing lights of buttons in front of her. "Hey, my mother kept talking about something with Kenshi about you and then she told me not to trust you under any circumstances. What did you do to deserve that?"

I shift uncomfortably; this question was inevitable to be asked. "It was when me and Erron…" My voice trailed off and flashes of the memory sped before my very eyes.

Cassie pulls her chair on closer to me, concern was in her eyes. "Look, if you don't want to talk about it, I won't force you to tell me."

It was my turn to be concerned. _What will happen if I do tell her? I suppose it has to be known to her._ I curse myself as I look back up at her, my eyes locking onto hers. "I'll tell you. I suppose you need to know."

"Ok, whenever you are ready."

"It was something that seemed so simple but went so horribly wrong."

* * *

 **-5 Years ago-**

"Hurry up kid." Erron calls to me from a small distance. We were in the forgotten forest, the snow and trees surrounding us; not another lifeform in sight. We were on an assignment from a mysterious buyer to obtain a boxed treasure from a secret temple inside of this forsaken winter wonder land. The koin was good and me and Erron wanted to make some extra cash to spend and what better way than doing a little job?

"Alright dude, wait up." I get up and fix the frozen boots that were tearing the flesh from my tired feet. I was only 16 and was eager to get out of my clan grounds to have some fun.

"Dammit, I know this temple is around here somewhere" says Erron, clearly annoyed with the faded map he had brought with him for this journey.

"Is that it?" I ask with curiosity, pointing to the distant temple to my right.

"Yep" he groans, feeling stupid that he didn't see that.

We make our way rather slowly because of the thick and slightly slushy snow that surrounded us. After ten grueling minutes of trudging through the snow, we reach the entrance to the temple. Erron opens the door, not even bothering to know if there was anyone inside.

He enters with me closely behind him, guns ready to deal any punishment that lay before him. The temple was as cold as it was outside, with only one fading candle to light up the entire hallway. He looks around for a few minutes and then motioned me silently to move towards the flight of descending stairs that lay at the end of the hall. "Are you sure?" I mouth the words without any voice. He nods and I sprint silently as possible down to the stairwell.

There were two shaolin monks that were guarding the door that was at the bottom of the stairs. They were facing the stairs so I couldn't sneak up on them and take them out silently, so I waited for Erron to approach. It took but a few seconds for him to formulate a plan. He takes a koin out of his pocked and tosses it down the stairs. The monks look down at the koin rolling down the stairs and at that moment, Erron motions me to attack one while he attacks the other. He lunges down the stairs and I instinctively jump after him, flying over the stairs and grabbing the monk's throat and snapping his neck with my other hand. His friend soon followed when Erron was done, the poor monk was missing his jaw and his body limped in an awkward fashion, as if the majority of his bones were broken. Erron gave me a nod of satisfaction and picked the lock with a tool.

He gets the door open and peeks inside, scanning for potential dangers. He then fully opens the door to see a small wooden box on top of a marble pillar. _That must be the package we needed._ I silently think to myself as we both enter the room. Erron approaches the box and takes it off the pillar. He looks around for something to happen and when nothing does he makes his way to exit. He closes the door and we both walk up the flights of stairs and down the hall.

Erron suddenly stops dead in his tracks. "I don't like this. It's too easy"

I look at him in confusion. "Are you saying you don't want it to be easy?"

"Just think about it. We are being paid a substantial amount of koin for this tiny box by someone who does not want to be known by us and likely an enemy of this shaolin temple. Whatever is in this box must me very important so why isn't it being protected?"

His thoughts were cut off when he was blinded by a sudden shock of light, throwing him back. I was facing away from the light, so I didn't get pushed away. Erron recovers quickly and faces the light. The light fades and a humanoid figure approaches me and Erron. I jump back to Erron's side to get a god looks at the man. He was wearing traditional shaolin robes and had a conical hat. His eyes glowed a white and blue and his whole body was like an electric lightshow; streams of lightening spurring and crackling all over his body.

"Told you it was too easy." Erron says, his hands drawing his guns. "And Just who might you be, sparky?"

The man crossed his arms. "Be wary of whom you speak to, human. I am called Raiden, God of lightening."

"Well Raiden, it was nice to meet you, but me and my friend were just leaving."

"I surly hope you have a better way of trying to get yourself out of this situation." Raiden says, unimpressed with Erron's response.

"I can always do fighting." Erron says, challenging the god to a fight.

"So be it, ignorant fool." Raiden says dismissively "You will regret your insolence."

Erron tosses me the box and whispers to me as soon as Raiden attacks to escape with the box and don't stop until I get back to the meeting spot at the end of the woods.

"You are making a horrible mistake, young one" Raiden warns me. "What is inside that box will cause catastrophic damage if it falls into the wrong hands."

I was expecting to run, but I was suddenly held by a tether of curiosity regarding what was in the box. Before I could pry the box open, Erron lunges at Raiden, making them both tumble to the floor. I instinctively ran for my life out of the temple, thinking about what would become of Erron and Raiden.

The cold winter air attacked me with its coldest breeze, as if it had been waiting for me to step out. I push through the harsh wind, dodging trees and stumps as I went along the road. I look back to the distant temple and see streams of lightening erupting from the temple. _Erron must be suffering in there._ I think to myself, amazed by the maelstrom of light coming from the temple.

I leave the temple and Erron behind. This job would do us no good if we were both dead. I slow my pace and reach the end of the cold hearted forest a little after midnight, the full moon lighting my way. _Perfect, there they are._ I think out of satisfaction. There were three people in the shadows near a large tree. They were the buyers for whatever was in the box. I walk up to them confidently, holding the box with both hands, careful to make sure that it had optimal preservation for the recipients.

"Hello young one." Says one of the buyers, his face covered by a dark hood and robes that resembled a highest honor of a warrior. The one on his left was a female. She wore a mask and had glittering yellow eyes and short hair. She was wearing a pink two piece leather suit and was carrying two Sais in her hands. The final one I knew was Kano. I hated to see him because of his horrid reputation, but he wasn't all too good with things coming from temples, so I was not too worried.

"Err, hello hooded guy, I suppose you are the mysterious buyer for this box?" I say meekly

The hooded man lifted his head and made me immediately recognize who it was. It was Ermac, Quan Chi's creation of countless warriors fused into one. I immediately knew something was wrong with this pan and took a step back.

"Come now, child. We mean no harm to you." Said the woman win between the two warriors.

"How do I know this?" I ask protectively.

They all lay down their weapons simultaneously and the woman approaches slowly, holding her arm out to receive the box. I felt more secure and approach the woman. I raise my hand to give her the box and she takes it gently. "Thank you for your service."

She turns and walks away. "I will need the koin you promised me." I say with crossed arms.

"Oh yes. We have your money right here." The woman nods to Ermac. He approaches me with a large bag, the contents jingling around.

I take the bag and open it. Rather than money inside, a black dust billows out of it, blinding me and throwing me off balance. Ermac lifts me up with magic and begins to chant an ancient spell, each word feeling like a slap in the face.

My insides start to burn, like boiling water was put into my bloodstream. I struggle to get out of his grasp, making nervous whimpers and cries for help as the magic ate at my insides. "What now Mileena?' Ermac asks the woman

Mileena looks up at me and opens the box. Inside was a glowing amulet with a green jewel in the center. "Shinnok's amulet." Mileena smiles behind her mask. "At last it is mine. Soon, Kotal Kahn will know my power." She looks back up at me and holds the amulet up to me and chants a few words. Magic shoots at me, pulling my spirit out of my very soul. I scream in pain and out of reflex, I throw the bag of black sand at her. It misses and covers the amulet that is shooting me. The beam turns black and goes into me, creating a black and green aura round me. The Light reacts with Ermac's magic and intensifies the aura, making the beam cause a sonic boom that knocks down Kano and Mileena, leaving only Ermac still standing

Mileena releases me out of shock from the power of the amulet and I fall to the ground when Ermac also releases me to help his fallen teammates. They all flee, leaving me on the ground groaning. I felt like my body was inside out and that I was drowning in a pool of hot water. My vison forms dark clouds around the corners of my eyes that spread to my eye's center. I hear gunshots and muffled screams and footsteps before the black cloud covers my eyes completely and I fall victim to the remaining magic's effects.

I feel it changing my body, as if I were a ball of clay, being molded into a new form. The magic activates and forms a corrupted star tattoo on my shoulder blade, a mark of dark power. Then another part of Ermac's magic mutates inside me and forms the wolf on my other shoulder blade, a sign of power and telekinetic ability.  
I feel my body relent to the power, letting the abilities sooth my mind with information. My mind fades and all that remains is a calming darkness then I fall unconscious.

* * *

 **-Current day-**

I finish the story and look up at Cassie. She was looking at me with amazement and disbelief. I look down sheepishly, waiting for her to speak. She says nothing, only breaths in and out while thinking about my story.

After a minute, she finally says "What happened to you? Did Mileena and Ermac poison you?"

I look up at her. "Kenshi couldn't remove the magic from my system. So, he taught me how to use it to my advantage. He taught me telepathy, erebokinesis (the power of darkness), and energy manipulation. This is all because of this accident."

She stared at me. "Why don't you use these powers?"

"I use telepathy quite often in situations but erebokenesis and energy manipulation are my last resort. It makes my mind very difficult and when used in public, will get me in a lot of trouble because people don't like me using terror and darkness around them."

She looks out the window, thinking about what I said and what to do with it.

I finally say "Look Cassie, if you don't want to talk to me anymore or trust me, I get it. I know what I have done and I would never have done it if I had the chance."

She finally turns towards me again and put her hands on mine. "Look, we may have met a few days ago, but I want you to know that even though that happened, what's past is past. What's happening right now is all that matters."

She leans in and gives me a soft kiss on my right cheek. My face reddens a little bit from the surprising and pleasant feeling. She gives me a reassuring look as she leans back into her seat.

"I never thought I'd fall in love with the general's daughter." I say smiling.

"I never thought I'd fall for a Shirai Ryu." She replies, giving me a playful look.

We both laugh and look at each other, her hand on mine. We hear a beep coming from the radar, indicating that we are close to the destination of the mission.

She looks as the radar and then back at me. "I think you better get ready. I want to see what Johnny told me about."

"Yes ma'am" I say as I get up and open the door to the cockpit. I give her one last look and close the door. As soon as I exit the door, I lean against it and sigh.

"You've been in there for a while, Niko" Takeda says to me, wondering what I was doing in there.

"Yeah, Cassie and I had quite the conversation about you know what."

Takeda laughs and gets ready, along with Jacqui who gives me a grin and starts working on her gauntlets. I walk over to my locker and take out the gauntlets and start pressurizing the gauntlet's projectiles and fitting the mask. All the while, thinking of the girl in the cockpit who somehow fell in love with me of all people. I grin at the thoughts that flash through my mind.

"Alright guys, are you ready to kick some ass?" Says the loudspeaker coming from the cockpit.

"Let's crack some skulls." I say as the ship slows and begins its descent into the mountain side. "Time to see what these 'Vengeance' guys are made of."


End file.
